Akron boat ramp done, recreational pond yet to come

A new boat ramp near Akron is complete, but the recreational pond that was supposed to come with it is on hold until DNR permits come through.

Digging the pond will take one summer's work, according to Justin Higman of Higman Sand & Gravel.

"We're just waiting for the pond's permits from the DNR since the land is in both the flood plain and the floodway," he said during a Plymouth County Zoning meeting Monday. "We're waiting on them until we can break ground on the recreational lake."

The boat ramp on the Big Sioux River and pond were pledged to Plymouth County as part of a trade with Higman Sand & Gravel in 2004.

In return for those, plus 850,000 tons of road gravel at a discounted price, the county is giving the sand and gravel company an old gravel pit.

That pit is between two parcels of land owned by Higman Sand & Gravel.

The new county recreational pit will be about 20-22 acres, Higman said.

"It's the same size as the one we're replacing," he said.

The original plan was to make a 40-acre pit, but the far west of the land being used is in the floodway, designated by the DNR. The pond will sit on a 56-acre lot.

"To make the pond where we could put a berm around it, we had to move it to the flood plain," Higman said. "The western part of the land might be used for shelter houses and parking for both the pond and the boat ramp."

The Plymouth County Zoning Board approved the plat of the lots, with one lot set for the boat ramp area and another set for the pond area, all on a 6-0 vote Monday.

"I think it's a good project for Plymouth County, and for western Plymouth County especially," said board member Ralph Klemme.